Poverty and the hope for a better life push lots of African young people to emigrate. Affrican growing demography will push lots of them towards other African countries, but lots of them will come also to Europe, because of many reasons: war and insecurity, discriminations, unrespected human rights, ecomonic opportunities, the chance to get asylum.
Reports talk about reasons, but numbers are going to increase, because African economy is not going to develop. Poor young people, who are smart and educated, will search for some ways to escape poverty.
In facts, there is no work for all future adults. And this is even more certain if we think about robotics which is going to damage work. And while education and health assistance are improving, there are more treatments and less deaths among young people and old people live longer, money is kept by a little group of people.
The ones winning elections – when there are elections – usually keep the money and divide it among their very few friends. In Africa, elites and oligarchies are very small and the wealth curve is shorter than the world’s one: the famous 1% becomes 0.1% in Africa.
Then, young educated and go-getter people earning 2,000 dollars a year. read about and watch a European boy earning 15 or 20 times as much. In your opinion, will they not think about going to Europe, about how to cross the sea or fly to one of our cities to get a job?
At this side of Mediterranean Sea, Europe is made of 28 countries having different ways to welcome immigrants. The so called “deal” between the country and the immigrant is impossible, beacause it changes with every new year and every new election.
But does Europe need young immigrants?
The answer is “yes, it does”. We need them immediately and for the future 30 years: our demography is decreasing, we are older and our birth rate is low – about 1.5%. By 2050 we will not manage to survive without immigrants.
United Nations state that we will need 80 million people by 2050. Without all these young people we won’t be able to heal our old people or to produce our goods.
The situation in Italy is even worse: our birth rate is 1.3% and now – despite all statements about it – there are only 5 million foreign people living in Italy – in 60 million people, that is, 10%. If there are enough immigrants helping to improve the birth rate, we will be 56 million in 2050. Otherwise we will be less than now. If we want to keep on being the third country in Europe and the seventh country in the world – having a GDP which is bigger than those of 190 countries – we will need people working and strenghtening our bones.
Of those 5 million immigrants, few people are African. In facts, only 1.8% come from Africa – that is 800,000 people and most of them come from northern countries.
These are little numbers that cannot fulfil our needs. Moreover, these are unbelievable figures if we think about all chaos and rumours about immigrants.
Politicians don’t face immigration in a scientific way, but they use it scientifically as an istrument of pressure and fear, talking directly to people’s emotions. Attacking the black man stealing work to Italian people doesn’t cost a thing, and takes nothing away from government and politicians.
It’s easy. It carries votes.
But the fact is that we need that black man. Italy needs it. And Europe, too.
